A former presidential candidate and chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Mr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has appealed to aggrieved leaders and stakeholders in Kwara State to forgive Governor AbdulRhaman Abdulrazaq for whatever offence he might have committed against them.
He said although the governor had offended some persons in the party, he has however impacted the lives since his assumption of office.
To this end, Olawepo-Hashim pleaded for his reelection in the forthcoming gubernatorial election.
The appeal is coming on the heels of a similar plea by former ADC senatorial candidate, Senator Suleiman Makanjuola Ajadi, and former PDP senatorial aspirant and onetime Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development, Hajia Aisha Ahman-Pategi.
Ajadi and Aisha dumped the APC for the ADC and PDP respectively at the height of the party’s leadership crisis last year.
Speaking with reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, Olawepo-Hashim said had done his best in the present circumstance.
“I am aware that many leaders are angry with the governor and I also have my personal reservations. But the truth remains that he has done his best and touched the lives of the ordinary people in the State.”
“We have to be fair to him despite our personal issues and differences with him, ” he added.
According to him, “Kwara is free now due to our collective struggle and we cannot turn the hands of the clock back.
He further urged traditional rulers in the state not to intimidate or coerce their subjects to vote for any political party or candidate.
“Forcing anyone to vote for any political party or voter’s intimidation is a crime under our laws,” Olawepo-Hashim said.
Daily Trust reports that the Governor after the last presidential election had visited many aggrieved leaders of the party in a reconciliatory move ahead of Saturday’s election.
The visits appear to be yielding fruits as former aggrieved leaders who earlier dumped the party during the height of the party’s leadership crisis have since returned and declared support for the Governor.
In a chat with our correspondent, Ajadi and Aisha who confirmed their decisions, attributed it to the “factor of the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu”.
Contacted, Kwara State PDP chairman, Hon Babatunde Mohammed told our correspondent that “the party will come out with a definite position on these developments later. That’s all I can say for now”.
